


if never i met you

by sameolsituation



Series: DL Stockings 2019 [9]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: 90s era, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brian gets the chance to bring Freddie back, DL Stockings 2019, Frian, Late '70s, M/M, References to Depression, Supernatural Being, Tags Are Hard, Time Travel Fix-It, background Christmas, brian is struggling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21975418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sameolsituation/pseuds/sameolsituation
Summary: Christmas was fast approaching, and Brian’s friends kept asking him what he wanted as a gift for the holiday. He kept telling them that he didn’t know, or that he didn’t want anything.But that was a lie; there was one thing he desperately wanted—something he knew they could never give him, but something he would never stop wanting.--One night, Brian makes a Christmas wish that comes true.
Relationships: Brian May/Freddie Mercury
Series: DL Stockings 2019 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1581805
Comments: 12
Kudos: 42
Collections: DL Stockings 2019





	if never i met you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lover_of_blue_roses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lover_of_blue_roses/gifts).



> This was created as part of the Dork Lovers Server Stocking Challenge... you get a fic, you get a fic, everyone gets a fic! 
> 
> Please note that even though 'Major Character Death' is tagged, it is only because the beginning of the fic takes place after Freddie's passing, but because this is a time-travel fix-it of sorts, the fic ends with Freddie being alive once more. 
> 
> I'm debating making this into a full-fledged fic, so if you'd like to see more, please comment and let me know!
> 
> Title is from KISS's song Hard Luck Woman.

Freddie had been gone for two years, and life just wasn’t the same without him.

Queen had essentially fallen apart; with Freddie gone, John had outright refused to do anything band-related without him, and had therefore retired. Brian didn’t blame him; Freddie had been John’s best friend, and many times he’d been the only reason John was able to go onstage, with Freddie talking him into it and reassuring John he’d be there to support him. Without Freddie there to support him, how could John keep going onstage night after night?

Roger and Brian were valiantly trying to keep Queen alive, but without their charismatic star lighting up the stage, it just didn’t feel the same; it didn’t feel like Queen. Brian felt like an impostor and a thief, creating hollow versions of Queen’s treasured songs for his own gain.

Sometimes, it was so hard just to keep going; Brian honestly didn’t know how he’d made two years without Freddie. Freddie had been his lover, his soulmate, the star lighting up the darkness of his night sky, the candlelight brightening his soul. Now the star had flickered out and the candlelight had been snuffed out, and Brian found himself lost, drifting aimlessly through his life without anyone or anything to guide him.

Christmas was fast approaching, and Brian’s friends kept asking him what he wanted as a gift for the holiday. He kept telling them that he didn’t know, or that he didn’t want anything.

But that was a lie; there was one thing he desperately wanted—something he knew they could never give him, but something he would never stop wanting.

“All I want is to have Freddie back,” Brian murmured to himself, sitting in his bedroom alone a few nights before Christmas. He didn’t expect anything to come of his wish, but as soon as the words left his mouth, a blinding white light filled the room, making Brian squint. He couldn’t see anything but the light; it seemed like his bedroom had disappeared entirely.

“Brian May,” a loud, unfamiliar voice called, startling him. He couldn’t even tell where the voice was coming from, beyond his assumption that it was somewhere in the realm of all the white light. “You have been deemed to have a pure soul and a kind heart, and therefore your wish can be granted. Your wish will only be granted on one condition: you must go back in time and prevent the chain of events that caused you to lose Freddie. You will have one week in that timeframe to do so. If you succeed, you will have Freddie back permanently. If you fail, you will have Freddie back for twenty-four hours in this time, but no longer than that. Do you accept this condition?”

Brian could hardly remember how to form words, much less say them aloud; this _being,_ whoever it was, was offering him a chance to have Freddie back? To fulfill the wish he thought could never be fulfilled? He didn’t know what the possible consequences would be, and usually he would spend some time carefully considering what could happen if he made a certain decision, but this time, he didn’t hesitate to answer once he found the words to say.

Freddie was worth it, whatever would happen to him.

“Yes, yes, I accept.”

The blinding white light grew impossibly brighter, and then it felt like Brian’s legs were being swept out from under him, and then everything went black.

* * *

“Bri! Bri, darling, are you alright?”

“Bri, wake up, come on.”

“Brian?”

It sounded like there was a cacophony of voices calling to him all at once, blending together in a racket that made the throbbing headache in his temple intensify. Brian groaned softly and forced his eyes open, blinking a few times in hopes of making his vision stop swimming. Everything was blurry at first, but there was a familiar face over him that was slowly coming into focus.

“You’re awake!” the person leaning over him said joyously. “Oh, I was so worried, Bri. You took quite a fall. Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”

Brian felt like he had forgotten how to breathe, because the person leaning over him was one Freddie Mercury; young enough that his hair was short but still curling over his ears, young enough that he didn’t have his trademark mustache of the ‘80s, and young enough that he still looked _healthy;_ his skin and hair and eyes were glowing and vibrant, nothing like they had been in the last few months Brian had seen him alive.

Brian couldn’t help it; he started to cry, tears of happiness and relief quickly forming in his eyes, blurring his vision and dripping down his cheeks. “Freddie,” he sobbed. “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here! Darling, please don’t cry, you must have fallen harder than we thought but you’ll be alright. We’ll take you to the hospital and get you looked over.”

“No, no, don’t leave me,” Brian insisted. “I need you to stay with me, Freddie, please.”

Freddie was looking at him with such tenderness in his eyes that it was almost too much to bear; the overwhelming rush of feelings in his chest at seeing Freddie alive again; the realization of just how much Brian truly loved this man.

“I’ll always stay with you, Bri,” Freddie said softly. He reached down and grasped Brian’s hand, squeezing it gently. “But I think you need some medical attention, and we can’t get it here. I won’t leave your side, but I need you to trust me.”

“I’ve always trusted you,” Brian breathed.

“That’s good, Bri,” Freddie said, smiling at him. “Can you sit up for me?”

It took holding on to Freddie to get Brian to sit up, the pain radiating throughout his head and body becoming more intense the moment he sat up. But as soon as Freddie was within reach, Brian enveloped him in a hug, breathing in the familiar, combined scent of his shampoo and his lotion, a scent that was so uniquely Freddie; a scent Brian had missed so much that it had him on the verge of tears once more.

He was here, with Freddie.

He was home.


End file.
